18 months on, Patiala MC gets nod for drive to sterilise canines

Ravneet Singh

Patiala, July 30

The Patiala Municipal Corporation is expected to begin the process to sterilise stray dogs more than a year after its previous programme ended in January 2022. Over six months after its survey, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has given permission for the drive.

Paying Rs 1,200/dog, Target 7,000 surgeries

A tender was issued and lowest bidder identified in November last year. Now after permission, the work order will be issued in a week. We are targeting 7,000 dogs and will pay Rs 1,200 per dog. Aaditya Uppal, MC Commissioner

Civic body officials said the board had granted permission to carry out an animal birth control programme. MC Commissioner Aaditya Uppal said, “We will begin the sterilisation process shortly. We had issued a tender and identified the lowest bidder in November last year. Now after getting the requisite permission, the work order for the same will be issued to them within a week.”

The MC has decided to issue the tender for two years. It aims at sterilising nearly 7,000 dogs during the period. “The allottee will also carry out a survey of the dog population. We will pay them around Rs 1,200 per dog,” the Commissioner said.

The officials pointed out that the process would be more focused on sterilising female dogs for a better control on the birth rate. The MC has been waiting for the resumption of the process for the last over 18 months. Its previous tender lapsed in January 2022. Thereafter, it issued tenders thrice, but failed to allocate the work.

Later, the MC was faced with issues such as lack of permission from the Animal Welfare Board. This year, the board also changed its rules for the sterilisation process.

Welcoming the move, residents said in the absence of a birth control plan, there had been a rise in incidents of human-animal conflict. The number of stray dogs had witnessed a steep rise.

A city resident said, “Stray dogs can be seen at all intersections and streets. It is difficult to leave the house during late evening hours due to the fear of attack by canines. It is high time the MC begins the process to sterilise dogs.”